Easter in India

Easter In India

A confluence of first world problems puts a new spin on the second coming

“Daddy – does that mean you won’t be home for Easter?”

It doesn’t score you a lot of brownie points when you explain you won’t be there for the egg hunt, but promise of a gift, and all was forgiven.

Although I wasn’t going to forgive Jet Airways for going broke; they recently reduced the journey to Pune to 16 hours, but once again its out to a delightful 23.5 hours end to end, finished with a three-hour drive from Mumbai.

It’s great coming to a hotel that you are familiar with and having been here only a few weeks ago, a the staff remembered my encouragement to use my name and that I was a bit of fun. Unfortunately, as my wife will attest, there’s nothing quite like seeing someone think they are the first one in the world to crack a lucky joke …

“Sir have you been Luckey today Mr Mark…” thigh slapping giggles as I walk off to my room.

I made a stronger impression on Pranav, the housekeeper, who I tipped three dollars upon leaving last time. Which it appears is an awful lot more than the average. He was hanging around my door waiting for me to get back from the gym and seemed to linger …. Let’s just say I’m now looking at the second bunch of flowers from Pranav and this time they are roses. The letter which accompanied them is just that little bit more flowing than the first one. Awks.

I might keep my tip to myself this time.

Easter Saturday I thought a couple of hours in the office, couple of hours work at the hotel and then a couple of beers by the pool, a holy Trinity. Four interviews turned into eight interviews turned into returning at 5 PM with Ruchir, the CEO, apologising that he’d forgotten my Easter egg.

Whilst wiping away the tears en route to my room, I consoled myself in the knowledge that whilst Easter Sunday might be solo and chocolate free , mostly spent working, that the club lounge would have some special food and endless triple gin and tonic’s to celebrate the second coming.

In my room, next to another note from Pranav… I was informed that due to the 17th Lok Sabha, in observance with local laws, that the hotel would be observing two days of dryness…. Never mind, I’ll hide a couple of those beers from the fridge in the safe…..

Knock at the door

“Oh, hi Pranav….”

“Hello Mr Mark, Luckey Day?” (Insert sniggers) “is there anything I can get for you?”

“No thank you Pranav”

“This is well, let me know if that changes, but for now, I must remove all the alcohol from your fridge in observance with local law for the coming election….”

Hell on Easter Sunday? Not quite. But it’s funny how your public holidays look so different from afar.

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